In the End
by Candyland
Summary: [COMPLETE] The Shikon no Tama has been restored, and Kagome returns to her own time for good. What will Inuyasha do? A take on how Inuyasha could end. Inuyasha x Kagome fluff.
1. In the End

**AN: **Wow, I actually did another Inuyasha story. Yayness! This is only my second fic for this anime, so I hope it measures up! Here's the deal of how this came about: my friends (**Fred the Mutant Pickle** and Rachie-chan) and I were discussing the series, and trying to guess how it would end. Now, FMP had heard that Rumiko Takahashi had said she was terrible with endings, so we came up with our own ending for the series. So I'm putting it down on paper and presenting it for your reading pleasure.

Luvs! I don't own Inuyasha, as earlier stated when I mentioned Rumiko Takahashi. Blah.

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**In the End**

The Shikon no Tama.

It was glowing a soft purple, cupped gently in Kagome's hands. The light fell across her features, reflecting the awe in her expression. They had done it. After all this time, the legendary jewel had been put back together. It seemed too good to be true, and Kagome briefly wondered if she would blink and it would vanish from her hands.

Or perhaps she would wake up and realize that she was either camping out under the stars with Inuyasha and the others, or even be in her own room and find that the whole thing had been one long, overly elaborate dream. She wouldn't be surprised by much at this point.

"We did it," she breathed. "We actually did it!"

Miroku didn't notice her joy; he was staring at his hand. A hand that for the first time in his life did not have to be concealed behind prayer beads. There was no black hole there, no curse. Sango was simply sitting on the grass; she looked inordinately relieved. Shippo was dancing around for joy.

"Man, now I can become a full demon!" Inuyasha cackled.

Nearby, Miroku stopped contemplating his now-normal hand and smacked himself in the forehead with it instead. Honestly, that half-demon could be such an idiot sometimes. He probably had no idea what he had just done.

She looked at him for a moment, then averted her eyes. "I…I guess you can get your wish now." She could feel his surprise, even though she was looking everywhere except for directly at him. "I'm going home. Back to my own time. So…here." She extended one hand, holding the glowing sphere out to him.

Inuyasha stared at her for a long moment. Was this a joke? She was just going to give it to him? Slowly, he reached out, and was amazed when she simply stood there and let him take the jewel from her hand. Her arm dropped limply to her side then.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha said, suddenly very perplexed and almost a little afraid. What was wrong with her? A minute ago, she had been so happy. Now…what was it?

"Well, I guess our work here is done!" Kagome said, suddenly smiling again. "So, that's it, then." When no one replied, she said, "I'm going home." Before anyone could reply, she turned to Miroku and Sango. "I'm sure you'll have a beautiful wedding. And Miroku, you had better behave yourself, or else."

Had the situation not been what it was, everyone probably would have laughed, but instead they simply stared. The Shikon no Tama had been restored. And now Kagome was leaving. For good.

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With one last look at her feudal-age friends (and a certain half-demon in particular), Kagome slipped off the edge of the well, and down into the darkness. Within seconds, she felt dirt under her hands and knees. There was no sunlight shining into the well from the opening above. It was shadowed; the sun was blocked by a roof.

It felt like ages before she moved. She climbed up from her hands and knees, dusting the dirt off before she began the familiar climb back to the surface. Finally, she clambored out into the shrine and tumbled onto the ground. She was on her feet quickly, and left the building quickly, not looking back, and not wanting to. She wanted to forget, and yet she clung to those memories with a ferocity that almost frightened her.

"Mom?" she stuck her head inside the house. "Grandpa? Souta? I'm home."

She was only mildly surprised when her mother came around the corner. One look at her daughter told her everything she needed to know. "It's over?" A nod. "Will you ever go back?" Kagome shook her head, and the first tear fell.

In a heartbeat, she was wrapped up in tight arms, the kind of hug only a mother can give; her face was pressed against soft blue fabric. "Shhh…it's all right, sweetie. It'll be all right." She stroked her daughter's hair in a way she hadn't since Kagome was a child.

"But—" Kagome hiccuped. "Mom, I love him! But—he doesn't know, and…" She trailed off into more crying. She was vaguely aware that her grandfather and younger brother were watching the unfolding scene curiously, but paid them no attention at all.

They wouldn't understand.

She had dared to hope, and she had been a fool for it.

She had been an idiot to hope that they could be together in the end.

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It continued to glow in his palm, that same lavender light.

With a sigh, Inuyasha looked down at the water's surface. It was blue-silver, illuminated only by the full moon overhead. Still, it was bright enough that he could make out his reflection. And the face in the water mirrored the same internal struggle as the original.

"Inuyasha?" Shippo chirped from somewhere nearby. "He's still here!"

"How long are you planning to sit there?" Miroku asked.

"Long as it takes," Inuyasha replied flatly.

To his surprise, the monk sat down beside him and smiled. "Perhaps it would help if you talked it out. Then an answer might be reached. Just say whatever's on your mind, and see where you end up."

There was a pause; then he began. "Kagome's gone. And…it bothers me. I don't know why, but it does. But…" He sighed, "there's Kikyo too…" He trailed off for a minute, then asked, "Why is this getting to me like this?"

Miroku's answer was enlightening. "It's amazing. Listen to yourself. You're actually getting worked up over a woman. I'm going to be perfectly blunt, because I think I can see it better than you can. Inuyasha—you love her."

Silence descended with an audible _thunk_.

"And now you've got the chance to do something about it," the monk continued, sounding far wiser than the usual woman-chaser he oft had a tendency to be. "I know you have feelings for Kikyo. But she's gone. Kagome gave you the jewel so that you could have your wish. But you have to make the choice. What do you really want? No one can tell you what to do now." Miroku climbed to his feet. "I know you'll do the right thing." And he left; the sound of footsteps padded away, quickly disappearing into the silence of night.

Inuyasha looked up at the sky. The moon was beautiful, but it gave him no answers.

He…loved her? Was that really it?

Who was Miroku to be telling people about their love life, anyway? He was probably incapable of fidelity. The half-demon actually felt a grain of pity for Sango, but at the same time, he wondered if the formidable demon-slayer might be the one who could get him in line.

They had a life together ahead of them. They were going to be all right. They had found their happiness. But where did that leave him? Where was he going to end up now?

Inuyasha looked down at the jewel in his hand. He had the power here to do whatever it was he wanted. And he had dreamed of becoming a full-blood demon for so long now. Was anything worth sacrificing that dream for, now that it was finally within his grasp?

_"If you're half demon…doesn't that mean you're also half human?"_ Kagome had asked him once. Yes, half human. The side of him that so few would acknowledge existed. He was a meeting of two worlds, existing between them, belonging to neither of them. His human blood outcast him from the demons; his demon half left him ostracized from the humans. He belonged nowhere, and no one understood it. Until…

Kikyo. And Kagome. Could he really choose between them? Or should he just go with his instincts and use the jewel's power to make himself the demon he had always wanted to be?

His fist closed around the Shikon no Tama, his decision finally made.

He knew what he was going to do.

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There was plenty of hustle and bustle in the classroom around Kagome. She ignored it with relatively little effort. She was only vaguely aware of some people speaking to her, saying 'good morning' and the like; she responded to no one. Her thoughts had carried her far away to a place where she was only connected to herself by the barest of threads.

Both elbows rested on the desk, and her hands provided an excellent place to rest her chin. She simply stared straight ahead at the dark green of the chalkboard. There were random writings still there, she assumed from the previous day's lesson, or perhaps just random scribbles written up there by rowdy students. She was so out of it, she couldn't have read the characters if her life had depended on it.

"All right, everyone, take your seats!" Mihara-sensei called as he came into the classroom. There were some last giggles and a flourish of movement as everyone hurried to obey. Within seconds, the room was silent and still.

And Kagome barely registered it.

"We have a new student with us today," Mihara-sensei said, far too cheerfully for Kagome's mood at that moment, had she really noticed. "I want you all to be nice to him and make him feel welcome." He turned to the door. "Come on in! Everyone, this is Mika Takeo."

The door slid open almost noiselessly, and the new student entered, closing the classroom door behind him. The classroom burst out in a flurry of whispers, mostly female. And Kagome still heard none of it, she was too lost in thoughts and misery.

"Let's see, there's an empty desk behind Higurashi. You can sit there," Mihara-sensei instructed. And the new student started back, walking towards a girl who had yet to actually notice that he was there.

Said girl sighed, trying to wake herself up before the lecture started. One of Kagome's hands dropped to her desk; as it did, her elbow moved, and knocked her textbook for the class from her desk. Biting back a curse, she leaned over and reached down to pick it up—

—and found that someone else had already picked it up and was holding it out to her.

"Ariga—" she took the book, and the word nearly died on her tongue as she got a good look at the new student she had vaguely heard Mihara-sensei introducing to the class, "—tou…"

"Anytime," the new guy smiled and took his seat behind her. Kagome stared straight ahead, the fallen book clutched tightly in her hands. She was still fairly out of it, but instead of her mind not being able to register anything at all, she was now fixated.

He was handsome. He had black hair, a little bit longer than most of the boys at her school, pulled back into a ponytail. His eyes were dark, and stood out plenty against sharp features. It all came together ]for a very striking image. The majority of her female classmates were whispering amongst themselves about the new guy's good looks.

But that wasn't _quite_ the reason Kagome was now wide awake. He looked just like…

Well, like…_he_ had at a certain time each month…but his voice. He _sounded_ like…

She looked down at the bok in her hands, trying to clear her head, and noticed a small piece of folded paper caught under her thumb. Setting the book down on her desk, she unfolded the paper and read the note written there in a handwriting she had never seen before.

One line. Eight words that nearly made her faint from shock.

_Miroku and Sango missed you at their wedding._

Where had this come from? No one else had been near her desk, except…

Mihara-sensei was just getting ready to start his lecture, which meant she had a moment still. Slowly, she turned around and looked at the new boy in her class. He was flipping pages in one of the books, but looked up when he realized he was being watched.

He looked so much like…

For what felt like eternity, but was probably more of a second or two, they stared at each other. Kagome felt extremely faint; was this some kind of sick joke? Was she paying for something she had done wrong? Or could it be…?

Then, to her amazement, he smiled.

And winked at her.

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**Translation note:**

Takeo: strong

Mika: new moon

So, his name (Mika Takeo) basically means 'strong under the full moon.' I thought it was clever, sort of an oxymoron…but I'm also very weird. Oh yeah, and somebody pointed out that Mika is a girl's name—but I'm using it as the family name, aka last name. Takeo is his given name, and it's definitely a male name. Make sense to everyone? This is how we thought the series of Inuyasha should end, with a happily ever after. Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!

**Tweaked: **There will be a second part to this. I have been mulling it over, and I just need to finalize a couple of ideas before I post a second chapter. Then this story will be complete.


	2. Where It Began

**AN: **I do not like to disappoint readers. And when there is an overwhelming demand for continuation, I cannot ignore that. So here you are, a second part**. This will, sadly, be the end of this fic, and there is no debate on that point**. That's the way it will be. I pray this is a worthy second part.

My friends and I bounced around increasingly complicated ideas for further chapters to this story (given the riot for more). By the time we said, "Whoa," we'd managed to reincarnate everyone from Shippou to Sesshoumaru. It was getting just a _little_ out of hand. So I opted for a slightly simpler take, checked it with my two partners-in-creating (Rachie-chan and **Fred the Mutant Pickle**), and wrote it out.

I hope you enjoy it. Thank you very much for reading. I do not own Inuyasha. Rats.

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**Where It Began**

With a slam, the school doors burst open, nearly flying from their hinges with the force of Kagome's passing. It was a miracle that the glass planes in the door didn't shatter. It was equally surprising that she didn't crash into anyone as she fled from the school building.

She passed through the gates and was a few feet down the sidewalk before she slowed her steps, finally coming to a stop. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and she reached one hand out to a convenient wall to try and steady herself. Eventually, her breathing returned to normal, but her heart was still racing. Giving up, she slumped against the wall for a moment.

And one figure stayed at the center of her thoughts. She had looked for him after school, but hadn't seen him. She had actually been somewhat relieved to have apparently missed him, and had taken off as fast as she could. Why she was so panicked, she couldn't say.

Her feet began to move again, carrying her towards the shrine that she and her family called home. If she knew their routine, Souta would just be returning home from his own day at school. Her mother would be waiting to hear how her day went. And her grandfather would be entertaining guests with the so-called legends of the Shikon no Tama.

Legends, he called them. They were no more tales of fiction then she was. She had held the jewel in her very hands. It had been locked away within her body. She had fought to put the pieces of the thing back together. It was no legend.

Before she had realized the time had gone by, she was standing outside the grounds of her home. When had she gotten here? Had she really been thinking about things all this time? Even her thoughts now were something of a blur. With a sigh, she headed down onto the grounds.

"Kagome? How was your day?" her mother asked a little too happily for her current state of mind. She knew she was trying to be cheery for her daughter's sake, but it was almost having an adverse affect.

She muttered something to the effect of 'fine,' and wandered across the grounds. Her feet obviously had a destination in mind, and she wasn't in much of a mindset to deter them. When she finally stopped, she looked up at where her miniature trek had ended.

She was standing beside a building.

In front of her was the door. Beyond that door lay the well that had been the source of so many adventures. A twist of fate had sent her tumbling through that well into another world, where she had made some of the most wonderful friends a person could have ever asked for. Sango—a tough demon-slayer with a heart of gold. Miroku—the occasionally wise but exceedingly perverted monk. Shippou—the little fox-demon who had taken to her as a surrogate mother. And…_him_.

Laughter, tears, pain, sadness, joy…all of it had happened in the well hidden behind this door.

Unconsciously, she raised one hand and pressed her palm flat against the door's rough, unfinished surface. It was cool, unwarmed by the sun's rays. He was the one who dominated her thoughts at the moment. And she didn't want to think about him right now. It hurt too much.

Turning away from the building and the memories that lay therein, she headed back towards the house. Her mother was probably waiting for her to come inside and talk about her day, when all she really wanted to do was curl up in bed and cry for a while. Her schoolbag, still clutched tightly in her hand, unconsciously swung back and forth by her side; she had all but forgotten that it was even there.

She passed into the shadow of the sacred tree and looked up at the green foliage—that was where they had first met, so long ago. He had been pinned to the tree trunk by an enchanted arrow, asleep for decades. And somehow, he had woken up when she had come near him.

It was then that she became aware of someone standing nearby, watching her. When she realized who it was, her heart stopped. "Oh…Mika-san." The strict formality felt strange rolling off her tongue, for some unknown reason.

"I looked for you after school, but I couldn't find you," Takeo said casually, giving her a winning smile that had probably broken frailer hearts than hers. But hers was already cracked and falling apart.

Mika Takeo, the incredibly handsome new guy at school. Still in his black school uniform, he cut quite a figure. A young man who looked heartbreakingly like someone who had been very dear to her, but someone that was now absent from her life forever. Unless…

She was nervous about Takeo, truthfully. It wasn't just his uncanny resemblance to her feudal friend; his voice was the same as well, if a bit kinder. But most unnerving of all, a note had appeared in the book he had picked up for her, mentioning Miroku and Sango, and when she had turned around, he had thrown her what could only be described as a conspiratorial wink.

Was it real? Or was he just flirting? She was attractive enough for that to potentially be the case, she knew without conceit. But he was here now, all of ten feet away; there was just enough distance between them that she had to speak up to be heard.

Her face must have reflected that something was amiss, because his expression shifted into concern, and he took a step towards her. "What's wrong?" he asked softly.

Strangely, she felt compelled to answer. "You…you remind me of someone I know—knew." She corrected herself hastily. "Someone I knew. I don't get to see him anymore."

He nodded his understanding. "Someone important to you?"

"Yes. He was very special to me…" she answered softly, not at all sure why he was telling him this. Her eyes shifted to the tree, just because it gave her a place to look that wasn't at him. "We actually met here. By this tree, I mean. This was where we first met. But our first meeting was a little..strange."

"Strange?" Takeo looked up at the tree as well, and he smirked. "Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Kagome froze while he continued, "It looks exactly the same. And trust me—when you spend fifty years stapled to some weed, you remember it pretty well."

His gaze dropped to study her. Her mouth was open, her dark eyes wide, and he could see tears welling there. And he felt his smile soften. "Oh, and that _osuwari_ thing isn't going to work anymore."

One shaking hand moved to cover her mouth, and the first few tears sprang loose. It took her a few tries before she could speak, and even then, the voice that came out of the trembling mouth was not the same as the girl who would regularly bark the word to send a certain half-demon tumbling painfully to the ground. "In…Inuyasha?" the single word, breathed with a sort of desperate hope.

He smiled.

Her school satchel fell from nerveless fingers and clattered to the ground as she launched forward. There was all of ten feet between them, and yet it felt like she was moving in slow motion, unable to reach him even though she was reaching out with both arms. "Inuyasha!" she screamed.

And finally, blessedly, she felt herself collide with something warm and fairly solid. Her face pressed into scratchy black fabric when she closed her arms around him tightly. Part of her was desperately afraid that this was all some sort of sick dream or hallucination, and he would disappear now while some higher power had a good laugh at her expense.

But he didn't disappear. Instead, he caught her easily and didn't let go.

"Kagome…" she heard him murmur into her hair. It wasn't a dream. He was real, and really here. And the shoulder of his school jacket was starting to acquire a certain salty dampness to it.

"I—I wasn't sure…" she hiccuped. "But it's really you…"

"Who else would be this good-looking?" he teased, and she muttered '_osuwari_'out of habit, knowing it wouldn't have any effect at all. And she knew he was probably laughing at her. But a sudden thought occurred to her.

"But—how?" she pulled back enough to look up at him. "How can you be—"

One clawless finger pressed against her lips, silencing the tirade before it could even begin. "You talk too much," he said softly, and she actually laughed while that same hand brushed away her tears.

It didn't really matter, she thought, as he kissed her.

And so, in the end, they were back where it began.

Together.

**_Owari_******


End file.
